Chapter 54
Meanwhile, Back in Sunnydale:
"It was, uh, extraordinary good luck, of course. And.. and, uh, training.. years of training." Giles said to Faith and the other girls as they patrolled the cemetery. "Chao-Ahn, keep up. You're new here, Chao-Ahn, so take note. Remember about training. But I honestly feel the largest part of it was instinct. Instinct and-and reflexes. There's a sort of wary watchfulness I've developed over the years. It's like another sense.." Suddenly Giles was cut off by a blur tackling him to the ground.
"SPIKE" Faith yelled.
"HEY!" Both men yelled. Then as Spike said, "You're not the First!" Giles said, "You're not in pain!"
"What?" Giles asked.
"Anya said you were the First. Said you were evil. You're supposed to be all go-through-able." Spike said, walking over to Faith's side.
"Then what the hell did you tackle me for, you berk? What's that supposed to do?"
"I, uh, I didn't think of that."
"More importantly, you just hit me. Why didn't your chip go off?"
"Yeah, well.."
"Well, uh, when we were at the Initiative.." Faith said.
"There was a choice."
"Right. Either repair the chip, or remove it."
"You had it remov.. You removed the chip?" Giles asked.
"Yeah."
"Had to make a choice." Spike said.
"It really is ok."
"What's a chip?" Amanda asked.
"They removed the chip?" Kennedy asked.
Suddenly behind them, Chao-Ahn said something in Chinese. Everyone turned to look at her before she smiled and followed them. Faith looked at Giles who was scowling at her. "What?"
"What do you think Buffy will think of this?" Giles asked.
"Giles, it was my choice. Not B's. Lighten up, ok. Spike isn't bad."
"Yes, well.."
"No Giles. I hate to bring up old arguments, but I'm not Buffy. I understand that she's the good Slayer and I'm not exactly shiny perfect, but I'm trying. I really am."
"I know Faith. Just don't know if it was a wise decision."
"Can we just drop this for tonight? I want to get back to Buffy and Angel's house and sleep."
"Speaking of, have you heard anything from them?" Spike asked, walking up next to Faith.
"No. We've tried calling, but no one seems to be there. Buffy said everything was fine when I talked to her last, but that was a while ago. She sounded really bad. I guess that's cause Angel is Angelus right now. Never a good things for B."
"You don't think that she's insane.."
"NO! Not Buffy. She can handle this. Besides, he in a cage. She'll call when things get too bad. I just know she will. In the meantime, someone's got to watch that high school. I called Principal Wood and told him I'd fill in for Buffy. He agreed really quickly. I guess it's bad."
Faith made sure no one was looking as she sneaked into Principal Wood's office. It was the middle of the afternoon and she had been putting this off for a while. She walked over to the desk and rummaged through some files before she gave up and looked around the room.
"Now if I were a sign of being evil, where would I be?" Faith muttered. She noticed a wall cabinet and walked up to it. Before she could open it, Principal Wood walked into the office.
"Uh.. Faith?" he asked.
Faith wheeled around. "Principal Wood! It's you."
"You looking for something?"
"File folders and mechanical pencils. Well, I want to write on a file folder with a mechanical pencil."
"The supply cabinet in the outer office had those things."
"Oh, this isn't a supply cabinet? My bad. Ok, thanks." She started to walk to the door, but he stopped her.
"Hey Faith.."
"Yeah?"
"Um, what're you doing tonight?"
"Um.. Watching a reality show about a millionaire."
"Well, then, I'd, um.. I'd like to take you out to dinner, if that's all right with you. I mean, you don't have to. I'm certainly not saying come to dinner if you want Buffy to keep having a job here." He chuckled then realized what he had said. "You know, I may have to make up a document saying I didn't just say that and have you sign it."
Faith smiled a bit. This was the first guy since Spike that had been sincere about taking her on a date. It wasn't just another guy who she wanted to sleep with for kicks and then ditch in the morning. Maybe he was just the guy to help her get over Spike. After all, they weren't legally married. All she had was the ring and the certificate from a drive up chapel. "Sure. I'd be happy to have dinner with you."
"Great. I'll draw up the paperwork."
Faith nodded and walked out of the office. The minute she was home, she called Willow into the living room. "Hey Faith, what's up?" The red head asked, setting down a basket of laundry.
"Can I talk to you?" Faith asked nervously.
"What's the matter?"
"Um.. A guy."
"Spike?"
"No, Principal Wood." Willow stared at her. "I know! I know! Technically I'm supposed to be with Spike, but that's over now. We're just friends. I still love him, but we can't be together like that. He hurt me and I don't trust myself with him like that anymore. It's really complicated, but anyway.. So I was checking out Principal Wood's office today and he came in and asked me out. To dinner."
"Wow."
"Yeah. It was all really quick though."
"So, he asked you to dinner?" Willow prodded as she folded socks.
"Yeah. Isn't that weird? I mean, he's a Principal. He's a young, hot Principal with earrings, but he's a Principal. Why do you think he asked me out? I mean, he could be interested, right?"
"Yeah, sure. You're a frisky vixen."
"Or, it could be work-related. Maybe I'm getting a job there for doing such a good job there. Or, maybe he knows that I suspect he's up to something, and he's taking me out to kill me."
"Well, you'll have to dress for the ambiguity."
"You know, it's not even that he's acting that suspicious. It's just.. there he is. On the Hellmouth. All day, every day. That's got to be like being showered with evil. Only from underneath."
"Not really a shower."
"A bidet. Like a bidet of evil."
"Faith, if he's really interested.." Willow smiled. "Are you interested back?"
Faith looked away, embarrassed. "I don't know. He's good-looking, and he's.. he's solid, he's smart, he's normal. So, not the wicked energy, which is nice cause I don't want to only be attracted to wicked energy. Or what if he is wicked, in which case, is that why I'm attracted to him?"
"I'm gonna wait for that sentence to come around again before I jump on."
"You know what? Yeah, I mean I think I like him. And he'd be good for me."
"Right. Help you move on."
"From Spike, yeah."
"No, I-I meant move on from this imposed super-self-reliance. Let somebody get close."
"Oh." Faith was about to say more, but the door opening cur her off. "Hey, someone's here." It was Xander. He had been back for a week now. There had been a small update on what had been going on up there. Angelus was back and residing in a cage in the basement. Buffy was a complete mental case. She wasn't talking to anyone and she had offered herself to Angelus for information. Apparently, she and Xander had had a fight and eventually Xander didn't want to deal with the tension between everyone there, so he had come back to Sunnydale.
"Guys, guess what happened!" Xander said.
"Faith got a date!" Willow said.
"No! I did!" He looked at Faith. "Fine! Way to steal my thunder."
"Sorry. I thought you were with Cordelia." Faith said.
"I don't know what Cordy and I have. I figured, why not play the field while I'm waiting to find out."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, it's Principal Wood, and I think he's aligned with the First." Faith said.
"Also, like eleven years older than you, right?"
"Which is like 100 years younger than your type!" Willow said.
"Yay. Someone who doesn't remember the Industrial Revolution." Faith said.
"I think they're gonna end up making out." Willow mocked. She held a pair of socks to her chest lovingly. "'Oh, Principal Wood,' she'll gasp, 'I love your lack of wicked energy.'"
Faith threw a pair of socks at Willow. "Watch it, or I'm gonna make you talk about your new girlfriend who you hold hands with under the dinner table and think we don't notice."
"How about yours Xander? Is she evil?"
"Well, she's interested in me, so there's a good chance, but I'm hoping for the best. We're going for coffee. She has a kayak.." Xander was cut off by Giles and Chao-Ahn coming through the front door, loaded with overflowing shopping bags.
"Dear lord, I hate that mall. The shop assistants are rude. And everything in the Food Court is sticky." Giles said.
"Looks like you found her some stuff." Willow said.
"Oh, hello. Yes."
"That's gotta be rough. Getting just like pulled out of your home, being told you're a potential slayer, not being able to bring anything." Xander said.
"Yes, and the language barrier is formidable. I was concerned that my Mandarin is a little thin, but as it turns out, she speaks Cantonese, which is thinner. But we muddled through, and, as I suspected, ice cream is a universal language."
Chao-Ahn said something in Chinese and Faith smiled and nodded. She looked at Giles and asked through closed teeth, "What'd she say?"
"She's grateful to be in the land of plenty." Giles turned back to Chao-Ahn and said slowly, "Let's, um, go and put away your new clothes." He picked up bags and walked upstairs. Chao-Ahn nodded and followed.
"Hey, Willow, do you think you can do a computer check on Principal Wood? See if you can find anything out." Faith asked.
"Yeah, sure. Want me to check your girl out while I'm at it, Xand?" Willow asked.
"Nope." Xander said. "I'm going in blind. I'm gonna be an optimist about this. Why go looking for trouble? If it's gonna find you, it's gonna find you."
"And on that note, I'm going to go borrow some clothes from Buffy."
"Um, Faith?" Willow asked.
"Don't you think you're a little bit big for Buffy's clothes?"
"Nah. Besides, I like skin tight, remember?" Faith walked upstairs and started to raid Buffy's closet. She had left a lot of stuff because she already had a ton of clothes in LA. Angel spoiled her. Of course, he wasn't exactly Angel at the moment. "Poor Buffy. It must really be doing a number on her heart and soul." Finally, Faith found a white shirt that she thought would look good. "Damn it Buffy!" There was a red stain on the shoulder. Faith sighed and walked down to the bathroom where Anya was playing with her hair. "Hey Anya?"
The ex-demon turned around. "Yeah?"
"Can you help me with a stain?"
"Sure." Anya yanked the shirt away from Faith and started to scrub at the red stain.
"Hey, you ok there?"
"I'm fine. I don't think it's really a date. That's what I think."
"Well, it is unclear. That's why I chose a top that says, you know, I'm comfortable in a stodgy office or a swinging casual setting.. or killing you, you know, if you're a demon."
"It also says I sometimes get blood on my shoulder." Anya looked at the shirt again. "Or it might be pizza." She handed the shirt to Faith. "I don't think I can fix it."
"Thanks for trying."
"And I wasn't talking about your date anyway. I was talking about this sham date of Xander's. I think it's part of a plan to make me jealous."
"Well, it's not working."
"Are you nuts? Of course it's working. Observe my.. my bitter ranting. Hear the shrill edge of hysteria in my voice."
"Um, I should really go find something else to wear."
"Fine, go. Leave me here to stew in my impotent rage." Faith stopped and turned to look at Anya. She was going to try and say something comforting, but Anya stopped her. "I'm also gonna pee, so you should probably go."
Faith shook her head and stepped out of the bathroom into the hallway to find Spike walking down the hall. They were face to face. Faith stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw him and tried to cover herself with the stained shirt.
"You look nice." Spike said.
"Oh, thanks." Faith looked down at the lacy camisole she was wearing. "Uh, traditionally, one wears something over this."
"Heard you got a date."
"Well, it's unclear. I mean, I have this whole theory about a job. Or he's evil."
"Faith, I'm all right."
"This isn't me trying to get back at you. You don't have to.."
"What? Be noble? I'm not. Really, I'm all right. Think I still dream of a crypt for two with a white picket fence? My eyes are clear."
"Good. I'm glad. Thank you."
"Never much cared for picket fences, anyway. Bloody dangerous."
"You should try this too. The going out thing, I mean."
"Oh, yeah, right. There's always girls who like the look.. bad boy, you know." Spike nodded. "Does it for some of them."
"Yeah, I can see that. I should go. I don't wanna be late." She nodded and then walked around Spike and into Buffy's room. She shut the door and went to find another shirt. This was going to be one interesting night.
Meanwhile, Back in Sunnydale:
"It was, uh, extraordinary good luck, of course. And.. and, uh, training.. years of training." Giles said to Faith and the other girls as they patrolled the cemetery. "Chao-Ahn, keep up. You're new here, Chao-Ahn, so take note. Remember about training. But I honestly feel the largest part of it was instinct. Instinct and-and reflexes. There's a sort of wary watchfulness I've developed over the years. It's like another sense.." Suddenly Giles was cut off by a blur tackling him to the ground.
"SPIKE" Faith yelled.
"HEY!" Both men yelled. Then as Spike said, "You're not the First!" Giles said, "You're not in pain!"
"What?" Giles asked.
"Anya said you were the First. Said you were evil. You're supposed to be all go-through-able." Spike said, walking over to Faith's side.
"Then what the hell did you tackle me for, you berk? What's that supposed to do?"
"I, uh, I didn't think of that."
"More importantly, you just hit me. Why didn't your chip go off?"
"Yeah, well.."
"Well, uh, when we were at the Initiative.." Faith said.
"There was a choice."
"Right. Either repair the chip, or remove it."
"You had it remov.. You removed the chip?" Giles asked.
"Yeah."
"Had to make a choice." Spike said.
"It really is ok."
"What's a chip?" Amanda asked.
"They removed the chip?" Kennedy asked.
Suddenly behind them, Chao-Ahn said something in Chinese. Everyone turned to look at her before she smiled and followed them. Faith looked at Giles who was scowling at her. "What?"
"What do you think Buffy will think of this?" Giles asked.
"Giles, it was my choice. Not B's. Lighten up, ok. Spike isn't bad."
"Yes, well.."
"No Giles. I hate to bring up old arguments, but I'm not Buffy. I understand that she's the good Slayer and I'm not exactly shiny perfect, but I'm trying. I really am."
"I know Faith. Just don't know if it was a wise decision."
"Can we just drop this for tonight? I want to get back to Buffy and Angel's house and sleep."
"Speaking of, have you heard anything from them?" Spike asked, walking up next to Faith.
"No. We've tried calling, but no one seems to be there. Buffy said everything was fine when I talked to her last, but that was a while ago. She sounded really bad. I guess that's cause Angel is Angelus right now. Never a good things for B."
"You don't think that she's insane.."
"NO! Not Buffy. She can handle this. Besides, he in a cage. She'll call when things get too bad. I just know she will. In the meantime, someone's got to watch that high school. I called Principal Wood and told him I'd fill in for Buffy. He agreed really quickly. I guess it's bad."
Faith made sure no one was looking as she sneaked into Principal Wood's office. It was the middle of the afternoon and she had been putting this off for a while. She walked over to the desk and rummaged through some files before she gave up and looked around the room.
"Now if I were a sign of being evil, where would I be?" Faith muttered. She noticed a wall cabinet and walked up to it. Before she could open it, Principal Wood walked into the office.
"Uh.. Faith?" he asked.
Faith wheeled around. "Principal Wood! It's you."
"You looking for something?"
"File folders and mechanical pencils. Well, I want to write on a file folder with a mechanical pencil."
"The supply cabinet in the outer office had those things."
"Oh, this isn't a supply cabinet? My bad. Ok, thanks." She started to walk to the door, but he stopped her.
"Hey Faith.."
"Yeah?"
"Um, what're you doing tonight?"
"Um.. Watching a reality show about a millionaire."
"Well, then, I'd, um.. I'd like to take you out to dinner, if that's all right with you. I mean, you don't have to. I'm certainly not saying come to dinner if you want Buffy to keep having a job here." He chuckled then realized what he had said. "You know, I may have to make up a document saying I didn't just say that and have you sign it."
Faith smiled a bit. This was the first guy since Spike that had been sincere about taking her on a date. It wasn't just another guy who she wanted to sleep with for kicks and then ditch in the morning. Maybe he was just the guy to help her get over Spike. After all, they weren't legally married. All she had was the ring and the certificate from a drive up chapel. "Sure. I'd be happy to have dinner with you."
"Great. I'll draw up the paperwork."
Faith nodded and walked out of the office. The minute she was home, she called Willow into the living room. "Hey Faith, what's up?" The red head asked, setting down a basket of laundry.
"Can I talk to you?" Faith asked nervously.
"What's the matter?"
"Um.. A guy."
"Spike?"
"No, Principal Wood." Willow stared at her. "I know! I know! Technically I'm supposed to be with Spike, but that's over now. We're just friends. I still love him, but we can't be together like that. He hurt me and I don't trust myself with him like that anymore. It's really complicated, but anyway.. So I was checking out Principal Wood's office today and he came in and asked me out. To dinner."
"Wow."
"Yeah. It was all really quick though."
"So, he asked you to dinner?" Willow prodded as she folded socks.
"Yeah. Isn't that weird? I mean, he's a Principal. He's a young, hot Principal with earrings, but he's a Principal. Why do you think he asked me out? I mean, he could be interested, right?"
"Yeah, sure. You're a frisky vixen."
"Or, it could be work-related. Maybe I'm getting a job there for doing such a good job there. Or, maybe he knows that I suspect he's up to something, and he's taking me out to kill me."
"Well, you'll have to dress for the ambiguity."
"You know, it's not even that he's acting that suspicious. It's just.. there he is. On the Hellmouth. All day, every day. That's got to be like being showered with evil. Only from underneath."
"Not really a shower."
"A bidet. Like a bidet of evil."
"Faith, if he's really interested.." Willow smiled. "Are you interested back?"
Faith looked away, embarrassed. "I don't know. He's good-looking, and he's.. he's solid, he's smart, he's normal. So, not the wicked energy, which is nice cause I don't want to only be attracted to wicked energy. Or what if he is wicked, in which case, is that why I'm attracted to him?"
"I'm gonna wait for that sentence to come around again before I jump on."
"You know what? Yeah, I mean I think I like him. And he'd be good for me."
"Right. Help you move on."
"From Spike, yeah."
"No, I-I meant move on from this imposed super-self-reliance. Let somebody get close."
"Oh." Faith was about to say more, but the door opening cur her off. "Hey, someone's here." It was Xander. He had been back for a week now. There had been a small update on what had been going on up there. Angelus was back and residing in a cage in the basement. Buffy was a complete mental case. She wasn't talking to anyone and she had offered herself to Angelus for information. Apparently, she and Xander had had a fight and eventually Xander didn't want to deal with the tension between everyone there, so he had come back to Sunnydale.
"Guys, guess what happened!" Xander said.
"Faith got a date!" Willow said.
"No! I did!" He looked at Faith. "Fine! Way to steal my thunder."
"Sorry. I thought you were with Cordelia." Faith said.
"I don't know what Cordy and I have. I figured, why not play the field while I'm waiting to find out."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, it's Principal Wood, and I think he's aligned with the First." Faith said.
"Also, like eleven years older than you, right?"
"Which is like 100 years younger than your type!" Willow said.
"Yay. Someone who doesn't remember the Industrial Revolution." Faith said.
"I think they're gonna end up making out." Willow mocked. She held a pair of socks to her chest lovingly. "'Oh, Principal Wood,' she'll gasp, 'I love your lack of wicked energy.'"
Faith threw a pair of socks at Willow. "Watch it, or I'm gonna make you talk about your new girlfriend who you hold hands with under the dinner table and think we don't notice."
"How about yours Xander? Is she evil?"
"Well, she's interested in me, so there's a good chance, but I'm hoping for the best. We're going for coffee. She has a kayak.." Xander was cut off by Giles and Chao-Ahn coming through the front door, loaded with overflowing shopping bags.
"Dear lord, I hate that mall. The shop assistants are rude. And everything in the Food Court is sticky." Giles said.
"Looks like you found her some stuff." Willow said.
"Oh, hello. Yes."
"That's gotta be rough. Getting just like pulled out of your home, being told you're a potential slayer, not being able to bring anything." Xander said.
"Yes, and the language barrier is formidable. I was concerned that my Mandarin is a little thin, but as it turns out, she speaks Cantonese, which is thinner. But we muddled through, and, as I suspected, ice cream is a universal language."
Chao-Ahn said something in Chinese and Faith smiled and nodded. She looked at Giles and asked through closed teeth, "What'd she say?"
"She's grateful to be in the land of plenty." Giles turned back to Chao-Ahn and said slowly, "Let's, um, go and put away your new clothes." He picked up bags and walked upstairs. Chao-Ahn nodded and followed.
"Hey, Willow, do you think you can do a computer check on Principal Wood? See if you can find anything out." Faith asked.
"Yeah, sure. Want me to check your girl out while I'm at it, Xand?" Willow asked.
"Nope." Xander said. "I'm going in blind. I'm gonna be an optimist about this. Why go looking for trouble? If it's gonna find you, it's gonna find you."
"And on that note, I'm going to go borrow some clothes from Buffy."
"Um, Faith?" Willow asked.
"Don't you think you're a little bit big for Buffy's clothes?"
"Nah. Besides, I like skin tight, remember?" Faith walked upstairs and started to raid Buffy's closet. She had left a lot of stuff because she already had a ton of clothes in LA. Angel spoiled her. Of course, he wasn't exactly Angel at the moment. "Poor Buffy. It must really be doing a number on her heart and soul." Finally, Faith found a white shirt that she thought would look good. "Damn it Buffy!" There was a red stain on the shoulder. Faith sighed and walked down to the bathroom where Anya was playing with her hair. "Hey Anya?"
The ex-demon turned around. "Yeah?"
"Can you help me with a stain?"
"Sure." Anya yanked the shirt away from Faith and started to scrub at the red stain.
"Hey, you ok there?"
"I'm fine. I don't think it's really a date. That's what I think."
"Well, it is unclear. That's why I chose a top that says, you know, I'm comfortable in a stodgy office or a swinging casual setting.. or killing you, you know, if you're a demon."
"It also says I sometimes get blood on my shoulder." Anya looked at the shirt again. "Or it might be pizza." She handed the shirt to Faith. "I don't think I can fix it."
"Thanks for trying."
"And I wasn't talking about your date anyway. I was talking about this sham date of Xander's. I think it's part of a plan to make me jealous."
"Well, it's not working."
"Are you nuts? Of course it's working. Observe my.. my bitter ranting. Hear the shrill edge of hysteria in my voice."
"Um, I should really go find something else to wear."
"Fine, go. Leave me here to stew in my impotent rage." Faith stopped and turned to look at Anya. She was going to try and say something comforting, but Anya stopped her. "I'm also gonna pee, so you should probably go."
Faith shook her head and stepped out of the bathroom into the hallway to find Spike walking down the hall. They were face to face. Faith stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw him and tried to cover herself with the stained shirt.
"You look nice." Spike said.
"Oh, thanks." Faith looked down at the lacy camisole she was wearing. "Uh, traditionally, one wears something over this."
"Heard you got a date."
"Well, it's unclear. I mean, I have this whole theory about a job. Or he's evil."
"Faith, I'm all right."
"This isn't me trying to get back at you. You don't have to.."
"What? Be noble? I'm not. Really, I'm all right. Think I still dream of a crypt for two with a white picket fence? My eyes are clear."
"Good. I'm glad. Thank you."
"Never much cared for picket fences, anyway. Bloody dangerous."
"You should try this too. The going out thing, I mean."
"Oh, yeah, right. There's always girls who like the look.. bad boy, you know." Spike nodded. "Does it for some of them."
"Yeah, I can see that. I should go. I don't wanna be late." She nodded and then walked around Spike and into Buffy's room. She shut the door and went to find another shirt. This was going to be one interesting night.
